Portland

Oops. It's been about seven months since I brought this beer home. I didn't intend to "age" it... I just kind of forgot about it. It was tucked away in the basement behind some 750ml bottles that won't mind sitting around for a while. A Prickly Pear Braggot though, that's not really the kind of beer you should keep waiting for too long. I'm hoping the past few months have been kind to this beer, but I'll understand if it has grown a little tired of waiting on me. Sorry about that...

Allagash is another brewery that is spoken of in very high regard but isn't distributed in my area. I've always wanted to try one of their beers and recently found a four pack of bottles while on a road trip. While I was excited about finding Allagash bottles, I was a little less excited about the selection... Basically, it was Allagash White or no Allagash at all. I grabbed a four pack and went on my way. With cautious optimism I poured the first bottle of Allagash White into my tulip and prepared to experience the best that Maine has to offer (as far as Wit beers go that is).

"Bah Humbug" pretty much sums this one up... BridgePort's Ebenezer is a Winter Warmer that is incredibly thin and watery. I expect Winter Warmers to be thicker, darker beers that are rich in flavor and warm you up. The Ebenezer is really none of those things... It smells nice and has a malty flavor with a little caramel but that's all it has in common with other Winter Warmers. This beer tastes a little flat, like a glass of Coca Cola that's been sitting in the fridge for a couple hours. The Ebenezer has a bit more malt and hops than a glass a flat Coke but other than that they're pretty indistinguishable from each other.

Shipyard's Pumpkinhead ale is a pretty lackluster Pumpkin Ale. This beer has the bare minimum amount of pumpkin spice in it to be classifiable as a Pumpkin Ale. Upon smelling this beer you'll notice that it's got an aroma similar to that of a loaf of pumpkin bread. I really like the aroma, there is a bit of nutmeg and some gingerbread spice. Where this beer falls short is in the flavor department. Drinking this beer is extremely underwhelming. The texture is quite thin and there is practically no carbonation. This means the beer feels a little flat, something that doesn't help when the pumpkin flavor is so mild. A stronger flavor would have made the beer seem thicker. The pumpkin flavor itself is, OK... it's not bad but it isn't anything to write home about.